Moriarty Selected for Aztec Bowl
Division III All-Star Team to Compete in Mexico City

AMHERST, Massachusetts -- Devin Moriarty (Springfield, MA), a defensive tackle for the Amherst College football team, was selected to play in the Silver Anniversary Aztec Bowl in Mexico City on Saturday, December 20. The American squad is comprised of the 36 most outstanding Division III seniors, and they will compete against a Mexican All-Star Team of collegiate players from their "Liga Mayor", or Big 10 conference.

Moriarty concluded his collegiate football career as an All-American and the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. The tackle led the team with 16 hits behind the line of scrimmage, including nine sacks for 56 yards. He posted three of those in a 35-0 rout of Colby, and he tacked on nine other hits and blocked a punt to earn NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Moriarty finished as the Jeffs' fourth leading tackler with 52 hits (25 solo).

Amherst football posted its second straight 7-1 as the Jeffs repeated as the unofficial NESCAC Champions. The Lord Jeff defense held opponents to 93 points and 1,727 offensive yards in Amherst's second year as the only unit to limit offenses to less than 100 points and fewer than 2,000 yards. The Jeffs also tied their own record for most shutouts in a season of NESCAC play, blanking three in the first four games of the season.

Joining Moriarty in Mexico City will be former Amherst head coach Jim Ostendarp, who has been selected as part of the American coaching staff, headed by Ron Schipper, football's seventh winningest coach with a 287-63-3 (.808) in 36 years at Central Iowa. Ostendarp led Lord Jeff football to a 168-91-5 record over 33 years (1959-1991) including a pair of undefeated (8-0) seasons and nine 7-1 showings. "The Darp" had been New England's winningest coach until October 4th, when Trinity's Don Miller, a former Ostendarp assistant, claimed the regional honor.

The Aztec Bowl had previously featured individual American colleges, national teams from Europe and specific Mexican teams. 1997 marks the first time that an American College All-Star Team will be showcased. The game will be played in the 35,000 seat Chivo Cordova Stadium in Toluca, a suburb of Mexico City, and it will be televised throughout the United States on the Spanish-speaking Telemundo Network.

Moriarty, who will leave on Monday, December 15 for Mexico City, is one of 18 seniors on the team, as the Class of 1998 is the first since 1987 to experience four winning seasons of Lord Jeff football. The Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought major concludes his career with a 24-7-1 record, after earning All-NESCAC, All-New England and All-America honors in his senior campaign.